Pat Robertson Says He Wants to Buy 'Virginian-Pilot'

PAT ROBERTSON SAYS HE WANTS TO BUY 'VIRGINIAN-PILOT'
[SOURCE: Associated Press]
Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson is considering buying The Virginian-Pilot, a newspaper he has criticized for its coverage of his pursuits. He said owning the newspaper would help provide internships for journalism students at Regent University, the school he founded in Virginia Beach. Robertson has objected to articles in the newspaper that he said unfairly characterized him and his activities. In the past, Robertson has expressed interest in purchasing journalistic businesses but has not completed the deals. He offered $6 million for the struggling United Press International news service in 1992 but dropped the bid a month later, saying it would cost too much to keep UPI in business. In January 1995, a spokesman said that he was part of a business group interested in purchasing the Houston Post. In April of that year, the paper was bought by the Hearst Corp., owner of the Post's rival, the Houston Chronicle. Hearst immediately closed the Post. Randall Balmer, a professor of U.S. religious history at Columbia University who studies evangelicals, said an offer from Robertson "strikes me as a Rupert Murdoch kind of move, diversifying into different forms of media, obviously on a much smaller scale than Murdoch." "It makes sense in a lot of ways," Balmer said. "It allows him to expand his journalism program at Regent University and to provide, in effect, guaranteed internships and a place of employment for his graduates."
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